


A Burden Shared

by QueenEgg



Series: Kingdom Eternal [8]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Hornet Angst, Multi, Oh hey its the Quirrelhornet baby (pre hatch mode), Other, dysfunctional families trying to be less dysfunctional, hi im mae and idc if i have to pioneer all the polyam ship tags in this fandom myself dang it, someone isnt ready to be a mom yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-22 03:11:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13755057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenEgg/pseuds/QueenEgg
Summary: In the wake of the birth of Hallownest's future monarch, Ghost faces a nearly insurmountable task: Getting Hornet to look at her own child.





	A Burden Shared

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this draft saved for MONTHS and now I finally get to post it!! Hope you all enjoy!

Ghost held in a shudder of displeasure as they glanced at Hornet from across the room. She was hunched over her desk, furiously drafting up a trade agreement with the Hive that they knew could wait until later. The past week had been full of nothing but her ignoring the situation at hand, and finally, they were fed up with it. Sending a wave of disappointment her way, Ghost pressed as much of their thoughts as they could against her own mind. _Visit them visit them visit them now now now_ was projected at her in a loop while they continued to glare in her direction.

“You stop that at once. I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. As you can see I’m quite busy, so leave me be-” Hornet hissed out as she turned back towards them. “Why aren’t _you_ there? Wouldn’t you rather be at Quirrel’s side than wasting time on a lost cause?” Ghost’s responding sigh grated against their throat and came out as an aggravated rattle.

 _Visitvisitvisitvsisit_ was all they could share, even as they crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped their arms around Hornet, lifting her out of her chair and holding her up against their chest as they hastily exited the room. Ignoring how she kicked and screeched at them with indignation, they hurried to the elevator that led to the top of the spire- and by extension, to Quirrel.

While the lift carried them up, Ghost set their sister down and gave her a stern look. _Quiethushhushsilent_ they cast, before Hornet sighed with resignation.

“I can’t believe you just did that. You know why I haven’t come up here yet,” she said. They only nodded in response.

Quirrel was asleep when they entered the room, Hornet’s bed currently occupied by both him and a delicate purple egg, which was cradled against his chest. When Ghost glanced back at their sister, they saw her apprehension plainly. It had been several days since she last spoke with him, and in that time he’d already given birth to their child. Approaching the bedside, Ghost let their hand brush against Quirrel’s face, his signature hood wasn’t on his head on account of it being wrapped around the egg, and they took a moment simply to appreciate him as he was.

When Hornet stepped closer, Ghost watched her shoulders drop as she took in the sight. The doors to her chambers had been barred for at least a week prior, and Ghost was rapidly growing tired of turning away well-meaning and curious individuals as they attempted to catch a glimpse of their elusive Queen now that she was confined to the spire. They’d spent a grueling period waiting outside- separated from both their sister and dear-heart -until Hornet walked out and beckoned them to enter.

It was then that they immediately sensed a wrongness about the situation. As soon as they stepped into the room, Hornet closed the door behind her. Quirrel was curled in on himself with the newly laid egg set aside in an ornate basket on the opposite side of the bed. Although he was exhausted and on the brink of sleep, Quirrel quietly admitted to them that she’d neither glanced at nor asked to hold the very thing she waited months for. Ghost could tell he was anxious about her response, but all their further attempts to bring Hornet back were met with cold refusal.

They didn’t want to draw attention to her lack of attachment towards their egg, but the knowledge that she was ignoring it- and Quirrel -worried them. Looking back down at their spouse, they watched as Quirrel rested his hand atop the egg’s smooth, translucent surface. The two of them remained close while Hornet watched from a distance, her breathing evening out as she straightened up once more. Eventually, she finally closed the distance between herself and the rest of her family, carefully sliding onto the bed opposite from Ghost.

At the sensation of the cushions shifting, Quirrel roused from sleep and looked up at his partner, the egg still in his protective grip. When his awareness returned, he slowly took in his surroundings- his gaze freezing upon noticing who was sitting next to him.

“Hornet-” he began to speak but the rest of his words were halted as she held up a hand.

“ _Wait-”_ she said, before standing upright once more. “Wait, please.” Ghost watched as Hornet all but flung herself away from Quirrel and hurried over to the door. After shooting them a telling glance, she slipped out of the room. Even before she’d left, Quirrel had already outstretched an arm towards her, but now he lowered it again, a soft noise of confusion and sadness escaping him even as they leaned down to press a kiss against the top of his head.

When Ghost stood, their reassuring gaze and the implication that they’d return was enough to ease their husband’s troubled thoughts. As soon as they were outside once more, it was easy for them to catch sight of Hornet leaning against the wall with her head in her hands.

“How delusional- how _foolish_ was I to have gone through with this?” she began. Ghost balked at her deadened tone of voice and projected a string of images and feelings towards her. Hornet winced as she was assaulted with a barrage of _confusionquestionhurtwhychildnotcarewhy_. Once she was recovered enough to focus her thoughts, she turned around and reached out to grasp her sibling’s arms. Ghost’s responding _questionquestionquestion_ made her tighten her grip with a low noise of pain. “Stop that. You don’t understand- you don’t know what-” Hornet cut herself off with a hiss as Ghost wrenched themselves away from her.

Their reply of _explainexplainexplain_ was thrown back in retort, and Ghost watched as she dragged her claws down her face with a growl of pain. It took them a minute to both settle, but once they ceased projecting, Ghost could feel Hornet’s mind turning over the circumstances- no doubt overthinking their situation -even without words between them.

“This burden... I- I was wrong to place it upon him. I requested of him an heir, yet I neglected to tell him just what such a responsibility would entail. Now our egg is born and here I am, festering in regret and refusing to even look upon my own child.” With nothing to say to her in return, Ghost sat in silence until eventually, Hornet let out a sigh of resignation. “In any case, I miss him, and I can’t undo what’s already been done.”

Was there a hint of affection, of longing in her voice? If there was, she made sure to hide it beneath her regal facade before they could see if she was being genuine. With only a simple look, she straightened up and wordlessly followed them into the bedroom and back to Quirrel’s side. There was an unfamiliar hesitance and reluctance to her movements as she climbed onto the bed as gently as possible, and Ghost watched with their heart in their throat as Quirrel shook himself awake once more.

Thankfully, their worries were mostly unfounded as Hornet pulled Quirrel into her arms, the other bug eagerly leaning into her embrace. Both of them hummed with content at the familiar contact, and soon after Ghost was sitting beside the two as well. Once they were separated again, Hornet tried not to seem taken aback when Quirrel leaned in to deposit his- no, _their -_ egg into Hornet’s outstretched arms with a deceptive calmness. For a moment, she simply held the life-carrying sphere against her chest. Ghost thought that perhaps she had finally overcome her fears, but soon she began to tremble almost imperceptibly until her shoulders were shaking with the force of the sobs tearing through her body.

“Quirrel, this child of ours... They will be the heir to this once ruined kingdom. The future of Hallownest will someday rest in their hands. Even now as they sleep in this shell as they once slept in you, the weight of such a responsibility only grows larger with each passing moment.” Both Ghost and Quirrel jumped at the sharp hitch in her voice as pure black tears began to fall from her eyes, staining her cloak with streaks of black. “I can only hope that one day, they will be able to forgive me.”

A quick glance towards each other was all it took for Ghost and Quirrel to draw close to her. Quirrel whispered soft words of encouragement and reassurance as Ghost projected _calmhushsisterquietlove_ towards Hornet, their much taller frame able to easily cradle the rest of their family in their arms as she wept. While wrapped up in his spouse’s gentle embrace, one of Quirrel’s hands came up to wipe away the tears from Hornet’s face.

“I thought that by now at least, you would know that they won’t have to carry that responsibility alone. You must remember that we’ll be there to support them as well. A burden shared is easier to bear, after all,” he said. Even Ghost managed to eke out a single noise of agreement as Hornet took in Quirrel’s words.

“Yes, yes I know. I’ll teach them what it’s like to be strong. A child of ours must be able to survive the harshness of this world-” her speech was interrupted when Quirrel’s face brushed against hers, the sudden urge to reciprocate overpowering her as the warmth from the egg held between them shone out like a gentle beacon. Ghost tittered silently while the two of them curled into each other, Hornet’s much taller frame dwarfing Quirrel’s easily while she kissed him.

“Strength is important, but we’ll also teach them what it’s like to be cared for. Hallownest has always been a kingdom full of warriors and fighters. I want to let them know what it’s like to love and be loved in turn.” His casual wisdom never ceased to astound her, and without prompting, Ghost sent Hornet the memory of the first time all three of them had embraced, the image Quirrel stuck in both sibling’s relentless clutches appearing vividly in her mind. They received a soft sigh of contentment from her in return and the trio and their egg leaned back against the soft material of the bed as Ghost let Hornet and Quirrel withdraw from their arms.

It didn’t take long before all three of them were resting snugly against each other and Ghost hummed mentally at the idyllic picture their family had created before them. Quirrel was already nodding off again, with his head tucked against Hornet’s shoulder. They themselves could feel sleep beckoning sweetly while they struggled to stay awake. But before their awareness slipped away completely, they caught one last glimpse of Hornet holding the egg in her hands, speaking low and soft.

“I don’t know what will happen when you finally come out to see this place for yourself, but I promise that for as long as my breath lasts, dear child of mine heart, _I will always keep you safe_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Maren for helping me finalize this in terms of what I wanted to do with the story. It works *so* much better now! See ya'll in the next one!


End file.
